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Slania's relief presence piques Giants' interest

Slania's relief presence piques Giants' interest

Dan Slania can run his fastball into the mid 90s and his sharp slider acts as a strikeout pitch

By Andrew Owens
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MLB.com |

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants selected Notre Dame reliever Dan Slania in the fifth round of the First-Year Player Draft on Friday.

Slania saved 13 games and posted a 1.21 ERA in 59 1/3 innings while striking out 43 compared to just 11 walks for the Fighting Irish. College relievers are often in high demand because of the well-founded belief they can impact a big league staff quickly. Slania was on teams' radars as a result, and a solid junior season certainly didn't hurt his stock.

The big right-hander has been extremely effective closing games for the Fighting Irish, and he's more than just a pure power guy blowing college hitters away. Yes, Slania can run his fastball up into the mid-90s. And his sharp slider acts as a strikeout pitch. But he has really good feel for a changeup that has good fade and deception.

With a three-pitch mix and pretty good command, the Giants might be tempted to give Slania a chance to start.

Andrew Owens is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.